Curtain Assembly

ABSTRACT

A curtain assembly includes a headrail, a curtain, a safety loop, and a pull rope. The curtain is coupled to the headrail. The safety loop has a first loop portion that is fastened to the curtain, and a second loop portion that includes first and second arms, each of which extends from the first loop portion and has a free end. The first and second arms of the second loop portion define a hole therebetween. The pull rope extends through the hole in the second loop portion of the safety loop, has an end fastened to the curtain, and is operable so as to raise or lower the curtain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a curtain assembly, more particularly to acurtain assembly that is safe to use.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional curtain assembly, such as thatdisclosed in Taiwanese Patent Application No. 098207952, which includesa curtain 11, a pair of safety loops 13, and a pair of pull ropes 12. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the safety loop 13 includes first and second loopportions 131, 132. The first loop portion 131 is fastened to the curtain11. The second loop portion 132 defines a hole 133 therethrough, and achannel 134 that is in spatial communication with the hole 133 thereof.The pull rope 12 extends through the hole 133 in the second loop portion132 of the safety loop 13.

The aforementioned conventional curtain assembly is disadvantageous inthat the pull rope 12 could not be easily released from the safety loop13 through the channel 134 in the second loop portion 132 of the safetyloop 13. As such, when an accident occurs, e.g., when a child extendshis/her neck through a space between the curtain 11 and pull rope 12,there is a danger in view of possible entanglement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a curtainassembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.

According to the present invention, a curtain assembly comprises aheadrail, a curtain, a safety loop, and a pull rope. The curtain iscoupled to the headrail. The safety loop has a first loop portion thatis fastened to the curtain, and a second loop portion that includesfirst and second arms, each of which extends from the first loop portionand has a free end. The first and second arms of the second loop portiondefine a hole therebetween. The pull rope extends through the hole inthe second loop portion of the safety loop, has an end fastened to thecurtain, and is operable so as to raise or lower the curtain. When thepull rope is pulled away from the curtain, the pull rope is releasedfrom the safety loop between the free ends of the first and second armsof the second loop portion of the safety loop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional curtain assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a safety loop of theconventional curtain assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of acurtain assembly according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a safety loop of the firstpreferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating first and second loop portionsof the safety loop of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a fastening unit of the firstpreferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a space between a curtain and apull rope of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodimentillustrating the pull rope when pulled away from the curtain; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a safety loop of the second preferredembodiment of a curtain assembly according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it shouldbe noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numeralsthroughout the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of a curtainassembly according to this invention in shown to include a horizontalheadrail 3, a curtain 4, a pair of safety loops 5, and a pair of pullropes 6.

The curtain 4 has a top end portion connected to the headrail 3, and afront side 41 provided with a pair of loops 42, each of which isdisposed at a respective one of left and right end portions of thecurtain 4.

Since the feature of the present invention does not reside in thespecific configurations of the curtain 4, a detailed description of thesame is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

Each of the safety loops 5 is fastened detachably to a respective onethe loops 42 of the curtain 4.

Since the safety loops 5 are identical in structure, only one of thesafety loops 5 will be described herein.

The safety loop 5 includes first and second loop portions 51, 52. Thefirst loop portion 51 of the safety loop 5 includes first and secondarms 511, 512, each of which has opposite first and second ends. Thefirst arm 511 of the first loop portion 51 has a straight shape. Thesecond arm 512 of the first loop portion 51 has a semi-circular shapeand is fastened to the loop 42 of the curtain 4. The first end of thesecond arm 512 of the first loop portion 51 is connected to the firstend of the first arm 511 of the first loop portion 51. The first andsecond arms 511, 512 of the first loop portion 51 define a hole 513therebetween. The second ends of the first and second arms 511, 512 ofthe first loop portion 51 define a gap 514 therebetween that is inspatial communication with the hole 513 in the first loop portion 51. Inthis embodiment, the gap 514 in the first loop portion 51 has a curvedshape. That is, with further reference to FIG. 5, the second end of thefirst arm 511 of the first loop portion 51 is formed with a protrusion516 that protrudes toward the second end of the second arm 512 of thefirst loop portion 51, and the second end of the second arm 512 of thefirst loop portion 51 is formed with a protrusion 515 that protrudestoward the second end of the first arm 511 of the first loop portion 51.The construction as such prevents accidental detachment of the firstloop portion 51 from the loop 42 of the curtain 4.

The second loop portion 52 of the safety loop 5 includes first andsecond arms 521, and third and fourth arms 524. Each of the first andsecond arms 521 of the second loop portion 52 has a connected endconnected to the first arm 511 the first loop portion 51 at a positionbetween the first and second ends of the first arm 511 of the first loopportion 51, and a free end opposite to the connected end thereof. Thefirst and second arms 521 of the second loop portion 52 define a hole526 therebetween. In this embodiment, the hole 526 in the second loopportion 52 has an elliptical shape. The free ends of the first andsecond arms 521 of the second loop portion 52 define a gap 525therebetween that is in spatial communication with the hole 526 in thesecond loop portion 52 and that is disposed along a major axis of thehole 526 in the second loop portion 52. In this embodiment, opposingsurfaces 523 of the free ends of the first and second arms 521 of thesecond loop portion 52 diverge in a direction toward the hole 526 in thesecond loop portion 52. Each of the third and fourth arms 524 of thesecond loop portion 52 interconnects a respective one of the first andsecond ends of the first arm 511 of the first loop portion 51 and thefree end of a respective one of the first and second arms 521 of thesecond loop portion 52.

It is noted that the third and fourth arms 524 of the second loopportion 52 serve as a reinforcement to prevent breaking or deformationof the first and second arms 521 of the second loop portion 52 when thepull rope 6 is inserted into the hole 526 in the second loop portion 52of the safety loop 5 through the gap 525 in the second loop portion 52of the safety loop 5 or released from the safety loop 5 through the gap525 in the second loop portion 52 of the safety loop 5.

In an alternative embodiment, the free ends of the first and second arms521 of the second loop portion 52 abut against each other. In this case,the free ends of the first and second arms 521 of the second loopportion 52 are disposed along the major axis of the hole 526 in thesecond loop portion 52.

The pull ropes 6 are operable so as to raise or lower the curtain 4.Each of the pull ropes 6 extends through the hole 526 in the second loopportion 52 of a respective one of the safety loops 5, and has a firstend connected to the headrail 3, and a second end opposite to the firstend thereof.

Since the feature of the present invention does not reside in thespecific configurations of the pull ropes 6, a detailed description ofthe same is omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

Although the curtain assembly of this invention is exemplified usingonly a pair of pull ropes, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the number of pull ropes may be increased as required.

The curtain assembly further includes a pair of fastening units 7, eachof which fastens detachably the second end of a respective one of thepull ropes 6 to the curtain 4.

Since the fastening units 7 are identical in structure, only one of thefastening units 7 will be described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the fastening unit 7 includes a ring71 and a plate 72. The ring 71 of the fastening unit 7 is fastened tothe front side 41 of the curtain 4 and is disposed at a bottom endportion of the curtain 4. The plate 72 of the fastening unit 7 is formedwith an engaging groove 720 that engages releasably the ring 71, and athrough-hole 721 that is fastened to the second end of the pull rope 6.In this embodiment, the engaging groove 720 has a triangular shape.

In an alternative embodiment, the plate 72 of the fastening unit 7 isfastened to the front side 41 of the curtain 4. The ring 72 of thefastening unit 7 is fastened to the second end of the pull rope 6.

As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, when a child accidentally extendshis/her neck through a space 62 between the curtain 4 and the pull rope6, the pull rope 6 is pulled away from the curtain 4 toward the gap 525in the second loop portion 52 of the safety loop 5. At this time, whenthe child struggles to free his/her neck from the pull rope 6, the pullrope 6 is further pulled away from the curtain 4 such that the pull rope6 is released from the safety loop 5 through the gap 525 in the secondloop portion 52 of the safety loop 5, thereby widening the space 62between the curtain 4 and the pull rope 6, whereby the child can easilyfree his/her neck from the pull rope 6.

It is noted that when the pull rope 6 is released from the safety loop5, and when the pull rope 6 is pulled away from the curtain 4 such thatthe plate 72 of the fastening unit 7 is disengaged from the ring 71 ofthe fastening unit 7, the second end of the pull rope 6 is detached fromthe curtain 6, whereby the child can be completely freed from the pullrope 6, thereby avoiding danger in view of possible entanglement. Thecurtain assembly of this embodiment is therefore safe to use.

When the safety loop 5 is damaged, the damaged safety loop may be simplyreplaced by detaching the damaged safety loop from the loop 42 of thecurtain 4 through the gap 514 in the first loop portion 51 of thedamaged safety loop, and by attaching a new safety loop to the loop 42of the curtain 4. Maintenance of the curtain assembly of this inventionis therefore relatively simple to perform.

FIG. 9 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of a curtain assemblyaccording to this invention. When compared to the previous embodiment,the second loop portion 52 of the safety loop 5 is dispensed with thethird and fourth arms 524 (see FIG. 5). In this case, the first andsecond arms 521 of the second loop portion 52 of the safety loop 5 maybe provided with a certain degree of thickness to thereby adjustflexibility thereof.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatare considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A curtain assembly comprising: a headrail; a curtain coupled to saidheadrail; a safety loop having a first loop portion that is fastened tosaid curtain, and a second loop portion that includes first and secondarms, each of which extends from said first loop portion and has a freeend, said first and second arms of said second loop portion defining ahole therebetween; and a pull rope extending through said hole in saidsecond loop portion of said safety loop, having an end fastened to saidcurtain, and operable so as to raise or lower said curtain, whereby whensaid pull rope is pulled away from said curtain, said pull rope isreleased from said safety loop between said free ends of said first andsecond arms of said second loop portion of said safety loop.
 2. Thecurtain assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first loop portionincludes a first arm, and a second arm that extends from said first armof said first loop portion, and that cooperates with said first arm ofsaid first loop portion to define a hole therebetween.
 3. The curtainassembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said second loop portion furtherincludes third and fourth arms, each of which interconnects said firstarm of said first loop portion and said free end of a respective one ofsaid first and second arms of said second loop portion.
 4. The curtainassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hole in said second loopportion has an elliptical shape and is defined by a major axis, saidfree ends of said first and second arms of said second loop portionbeing disposed along the major axis of said hole in said second loopportion.
 5. The curtain assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein each ofsaid first and second arms of said first loop portion has an end, saidends of said first and second arms of said first loop portion defining agap therebetween that is in spatial communication with said hole in saidfirst loop portion.
 6. The curtain assembly as claimed in claim 5,wherein: said end of said first arm of said first loop portion is formedwith a protrusion that protrudes toward said end of said second arm ofsaid first loop portion; and said end of said second arm of said firstloop portion is formed with a protrusion that protrudes toward said endof said first arm of said first loop portion.
 7. The curtain assembly asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said free ends of said first and second armsof said second loop portion define a gap therebetween that is in spatialcommunication with said hole in said second loop portion, said free endof said first arm of said second loop portion having a surface, saidfree end of said second arm of said second loop portion having a surfaceopposed to said surface of said free end of said first arm of saidsecond loop portion, said surfaces of said free ends of said first andsecond loop portions diverge in a direction toward said hole in saidsecond loop portion.
 8. The curtain assembly as claimed in claim 1,further comprising a fastening unit including a ring that is fastened toone of said curtain and said end of said pull rope, and a plate that isfastened to the other of said curtain and said end of said pull rope,said plate being formed with an engaging groove that engages releasablysaid ring.